Google Play Keyword Research
Paste your app's Google Play link and get the 3 keywords worth going after first: how many people search them, how hard page one is, and where your app ranks today. Or type any keyword to explore. No sign-up needed.
Three keywords worth your title, not thirty to sort through
We read your Google Play listing, collect what people type into Play's search around it, and check the top 30 apps for every phrase. Then we keep the three where your app has the most to gain.
To find keywords for a Google Play app, start with what the app does, then check what Google Play suggests as you type those words: the suggestions are real searches. For each one, look at the top 30 apps. A keyword you already rank for near page one, or an easy one you don't rank for at all, is usually worth more than the biggest keyword in your category. Put the best one in your title and the next ones in your short description.
Find your best Google Play keywords in three steps
Paste your Google Play link
Copy your app's Play Store link (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=…) and paste it in. A plain keyword works too, if you are still exploring an idea.
We read your listing and the store
We read your title, short description and description, pull Google Play's own search suggestions around them, and check the top 30 apps for each keyword.
Get your best 3
Each keyword is scored on demand, how hard page one is, and where you rank today. The three with the most to gain come first, each with the reason it was picked.
What makes a keyword worth it on Google Play
Google Play ranks apps for a search by how well the listing matches the words, and by how the app performs: installs, ratings and engagement. The words come from your title, your short description and your full description, so the keywords you choose decide which searches you can show up for at all.
The biggest keyword in your category is rarely the best one to chase first. Page one for "habit tracker" is held by apps with tens of thousands of ratings. A longer phrase with real searches and a softer page one, or a keyword where you already sit at #12, is where a small app actually climbs.
This tool does that triage for you. It reads your listing, gathers the phrases people really type into Google Play, checks the top 30 for each, and shows the three with the best mix of demand, difficulty and your current position.
Google Play keywords at a glance
- Google Play indexes your title (30 characters), short description (80) and full description (4,000) for search.
- Google Play has no separate keyword field, unlike the App Store.
- Play's search suggestions are ordered roughly by how often each phrase is searched.
- Ranking also depends on installs, ratings and engagement, not only on the words in your listing.
- Results differ by country, so check keywords in the markets you care about.
What decides a keyword's value for your app
Three numbers per keyword, and the one that most tools leave out: where you stand today.
Common Google Play keyword mistakes
Most listings that never rank make one of these.
Worked example: reading a result
Here is how to read a result for an illustrative Google Play habit app with a few hundred ratings. The numbers are made up to show how to read the output; run the tool above for your own app.
| Keyword | What you see | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| habit tracker | You're #7 · difficulty 39 | On page one already. The top 3 is in reach, so this belongs in the title. |
| habit tracker app | You're #30 · difficulty 14 | Easy and no rival has the exact phrase in its title. Work it into the short description. |
| goal tracker | Not in top 30 · difficulty 23 | Untapped and easy. Add it to the description if goals are part of the app. |
Reading it: one keyword to hold and push, one to claim cheaply, one to start ranking for. That is a better plan than chasing the biggest word in the category.
Picking keywords by hand vs with this tool
You can type phrases into Google Play and scroll, one at a time. Here is what changes.
| Searching Google Play yourself | This keyword research tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding phrases | Type and note what autocomplete shows, one by one | Your listing and Play's suggestions collected for you |
| Difficulty | Open each result and judge by feel | A 0 to 100 score from the apps on page one |
| Your rank | Scroll until you find your app, or give up | Your position in the top 30 for every keyword |
| Choosing | Gut feel | The best 3, each with the reason |
| Cost | Free but slow | Free, about 15 seconds, no sign-up |
Who uses Google Play keyword research
Anyone writing a Play listing that should be found.
Google Play keyword terms, defined
The vocabulary behind the numbers, in plain English.
- Search demand
- How often a phrase is searched. Estimated here from Google Play's own search suggestions, since Play publishes no volumes.
- Keyword difficulty
- How hard it is to reach page one for a phrase, from 0 (open) to 100 (locked up by big, established apps).
- Short description
- The 80-character line under your app's name on Google Play. It is indexed for search and is the second most important place for a keyword.
- Autocomplete
- The suggestions Google Play shows as someone types. They are real searches, roughly in order of popularity.
- Long-tail keyword
- A longer, more specific phrase ("habit tracker widget") with fewer searches but far less competition.
- Top 30
- The first thirty results for a search. Most installs from search come from the first few rows.
Questions, answered
Keep optimizing
- App store keyword research: How to pick keywords you can actually rank for, on iOS and Android.
- App Store Optimization: the complete guide: Where keywords fit among the other ranking signals.
Turn keywords into installs
This tool stays free. ReachFront Max, with 7 days free, picks the keywords that fit your app, tells you where each one goes in your listing, and tracks your rank every day on both stores.